Thursday, May 8, 2003
Jonathan Freedland addresses British MP Tam Dalyell's anti-Semitic remarks in today's Guardian. Well done. Too bad it has to be written, and by a Jew(??) - just guessing. As he mentions in the article, if Dalyell were in Washington he'd be done already.
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | That is a racist slur
In a way, this episode is a test for Britain. American journalists covering the Dalyell story say the same comments would be a career-ender in Washington - much as Republican Trent Lott's expression of nostalgic sympathy for racial segregation recently cost him his place at the helm of the US Senate. Admittedly Dalyell does not hold leadership rank in Labour, but it seems Britain's intolerance for intolerance is not quite as advanced as America's. [...]